Peter Durst

Peter Charles Durst, a Maidstone Park resident and a founding member of the Maidstoners, a local softball team, died on May 25 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx after a yearlong battle with lung cancer. He was 59.
Mr. Durst had followed in both his father’s and his brother’s footsteps, becoming an ironworker. As a member of Local Union 580, he had worked on many of New York’s iconic buildings, including the World Trade Center.
He was born in the Bronx on May 31, 1953, one of two sons born to Charles Durst and the former Elfriede Hildebrandt, and graduated from the Clinton Academy High School in that borough.
The family spent summers and weekends in Maidstone Park, where they owned several properties. There Mr. Durst made lifelong friends. He was proud to be among the ballplayers that established the Maidstoners team, which played at Maidstone Park every Sunday.
The Durst family enjoyed holding large annual Memorial Day and Labor Day parties at their Maidstone place.
Despite his job in the city, Mr. Durst continued to visit East Hampton as often as possible. He met the former Robin Rea (now Robin Kuntz), and the two were married in 1978. The couple had two children, and were later divorced.
Mr. Durst loved fishing at the beach, and enjoyed taking his children to fish at Maidstone and on family vacations to Vermont.
After moving to East Hampton full time, Mr. Durst worked as a bartender at various local places, including at Wolfie’s Tavern, Café Max, and Michaels’ restaurant.
He rekindled a high school romance with Theresa DeVita, and they married in 2001 in Orwell, Vt. The couple moved to Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., to help Mr. Durst’s mother, but continued to visit the East End as often as possible.
In Dobbs Ferry, Mr. Durst worked as a bartender at Rudy’s Beau Rivage and, most recently, as a deliveryman for San Gennaro’s restaurant.
Mr. Durst is survived by his mother, Elfriede Durst of Dobbs Ferry, his brother, John Durst of Queens, and his children, Crystal Durst of East Hampton and Peter Durst of Portland, Ore. He was predeceased by his wife in 2008.
He was cremated, and his remains will be joined with those of his wife in East Hampton. At his request, no service will be held, but a memorial gathering is planned for later this summer.
Memorial donations have been suggested to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105.